Every year South Africans open up their hearts (and wallets) for the Chris Burger/Petro Jackson fund. Sure it’s a noble cause, but so much of the pain and maim is so unnecessary. Every year, numerous junior (and senior) rugby players are badly injured doing what they love.
It’s no secret that rugby is a dangerous sport and that’s why it has to be properly regulated. A couple of weeks ago the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that rugby players will be forced to pay up for serious injuries caused to opponents. This after schoolboy Ryand Hattingh’s neck was broken during a rugby match between the first teams of Laborie High School and Stellenbosch High School in 2005. The Western Cape High Court found that Alex Roux was legally liable for the neck injury.
As the forwards were forming a scrum, Roux had shouted the word ’jack-knife’ and then blocked the channel into which Hattingh’s head was meant to go. For many scholars, rugby (and other sporting codes) is a matter of life or death, and that’s why the use of steroids and other illegal substances remains a burning issue. Anyone can get injured playing any sport, but injuries can be minimised by acting responsibly and acknowledging that even gruelling physical sports like rugby were invented by gentlemen for gentlemen.
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